Haunted
by Sine Die
Summary: Katrin, a Red jeweled witch, has a terrible past that just won't go away. Can a new start bring hope and banish old memories.


HAUNTED

Authors Note

This is the only section where I will time jump. The first one (one year earlier) is to get a feel of the mood and tell you of Katrin's lowest point in life. Her rock bottom. The two years earlier is the actual events leading up to her broken state in which the story will open. This section to help understand

Katrin's action and personality. Before this happen she was quite a joyous person…well I'll get into that later in the story….By the way please review my story after you've read it. I'd appreciate it a lot. I'd like to know how to improve my writing. ALSO I WILL MOST LIKELY UPDATE A COUPLE TIMES A WEEK SO IF YOU ENJOY IT PLEASE COME BACK A CHECK OUT THE UPDATES.

ATTENTION only the characters, plot, and places in this book are mine. The entire world concept and jewels belong to Anne Bishop the author of the dark jewels trilogy. I write purely for the enjoyment of writing and my great fondness of this series…..

Prologue

One year earlier:

Running. Burning, Ripping. Feelings and emotions so strong they tore through her fragile body causing her to forget how to breathe properly. Her chest getting tighter with fear. No longer could she think in cohesive sentences. No longer could she call up enough strength to fight. So she did the only thing she could. She collapsed into a ball on the wet forest ground. Curling her ravaged form up as small as she could manage. Now beyond the point of recognizing one pain from another. Everywhere. Her whole body quivered as coldness seeped through every orifice available. Attaching itself like an ever hungry leach onto her bruised skin. Everything soaked in soreness from the abuse in which she had suffered. Sure she had survived, but at what cost. Sometimes the cost is too high to bear. And the price for surviving this time would her piece of her sanity.

One year and six months earlier:

A fresh batch of tears slipped down her face as Katrin thought of the sorrow that had filled these last three months. First with her Aunt Rachael dying in a merciless childbirth and then the baby girl not three weeks later. Her aunt had been a simple Tiger-eye jeweled witch that everyone knew and loved dearly. Family had been important to her but at a young age her aunt had been informed that it would be to hard on her tiny hips to give birth. Katrin's Uncle Will had never cared because he loved her aunt Rachael. He himself was a Summer-sky jeweled warlord who cared only for a comfortable home and a wife to warm it. Mostly Katrin felt bad for her Uncle William for he had to be feeling the lost ten times more than she. Katrin had noticed the empty look in his eyes wherever he went and his frequent disappearances.

Sadly she did not know what to do about it. Each day her Uncle became more and more unlike his usual lively self. Maybe she should talk to him about it. Katrin was sure if they discussed the pasting away of Aunt Rachael, the pain would lessen a great deal. That's what I'll do, she thought. She'd wait till the right time and spring it on him.

Wiping her dampen cheeks Katrin walking slowly back inside the house.

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The chance to discuss the matter arose the next week when her Uncle went up to his office to do what he called "paperwork". He probably was just sitting there staring off into space. Walking up the staircase she ascended to the second floor.

When Katrin reached the office door she had to knock four times before her uncle answered

"Come in"

Slowly she opened the door. Katrin had to adjust her eyes to semi-darkness of the room. William sat on the small loveseat in front of the fire, starring at the flames flicker. It created creepy, dancing shadows against the walls.

"Uncle Will is you okay?" she asked. When Katrin didn't receive an answer she walked over and sat beside him. Only after she placed a hand on his shoulder did her uncle respond to her presence. Uncle William seemed startled that she was there beside him as if he didn't recall telling her to come in.

"Katrin?" Her uncles eyes where bloodshot and red rimmed. It was then that Katrin noticed the heavy scent of whiskey that clung to his breathe and clothes. Never before could she recall her uncle consuming alcohol of any kind even at dinner parties.

"Uncle Will, I hate to see you like this. I know you miss Aunt Rachael a lot. I do too but she would want you to get your life back as much as possible, not sit there a looking lost. She loved you very dearly. I know it would break her heart to see you like this. It hurts me as well seeing the uncle I once knew nothing more than a slip of his old self. "Katrin blurted out. Immediately she regretted her words when she saw her uncle's eyes begin the water.

"Youurr ri-ight Kitty, I just don't kn-now what to do with myself.' He cried clinging to her while burying his head on her shoulder. Katrin patted her uncle's back with tears of her own springing to her eyes. She whispered quiet assurances to him. Telling it would be alright and that he could get through this.

Eventually he pulled away slowly sitting up.

"You're such a good girl Kitty. Always there to look after me. Just like Rachael. You even look like her with your sweet green eyes." Uncle Will moved closer, and trailed a hand on her head," And your lovely fiery brown hair ," at this point in time Katrin should have realized something was about to happen especially when he curled a lock around his finger and began to smile, or perhaps that was just another way to blame the situation on herself instead of her now broken uncle.." your body so small like hers except with those hinted curves of womanhood.," Katrin was horrified when her uncle placed a her on her hip.

William pulled her to him brutally placing his drunken lips on hers and clumsily groping at her belly attempting to find her breast. At the tender age of sixteen Katrin knew what her uncle was leaning towards and it defiantly was not going to happen. The loss maidenhead was not as important to her has the thought of possibly losing her jewels.

"Oh Rachael, Rachael, Rachael, how I've missed you my dear." Her uncle will crooned.

"Get off I'm Katrin, KATRIN! Not Aunt Rachael Get OFF!" Katrin tried to push his heavy body off of hers but she was no match for a forty year old man. She desperately tried to remember what Reese to leading of the village guard had told her do in these situations. Quickly Katrin responded Bring her knee hard into her uncle groin.

"Uuupruph!" Uncle Will grunted as he rolled off of her and onto the floor. Katrin ran to the only place she could to her room and locked the door. She collapsed on her bed and cried. Katrin felt not only ashamed but dirty as well. She couldn't understand why her once loving Uncle had done the things he did. Well, yes she could, he was grieving heavily and the alcohol he had consumed messed with his already screwed up mind, making him see her as her aunt instead of as his niece. Still she could not put the fear of what happened behind her. What if it happened again? How would be able to face her uncle? Already she began to see him in a distorted way. Even though Katrin wore the Red jewel as her birthright and could easily over power her uncle that way, she didn't want to hurt him. Yet he had hurt her and she now knew that this night had changed her from child to young woman. Never again could she view life with the same innocence. Because Katrin had seen what the hardships of it had done to those around her.

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Katrin awoke the next morning in a stupor. She was afraid that when she went downstairs her uncle would be worse that he had been these last few months and that he would see what happened last night as something horrible only to add to his world of grief.

An odd thing happened though. When she reached the breakfast table that morning Katrin found her uncle at table already reading a newspaper. He had the same look about him that he had when her aunt was still alive. When she overcame her initial shock she went to sit down.

"Oh, hello honey. Did you get a good night's rest? It certainly is a beautiful looking day outside. I think I'll go over to Roger's and see how he and Marge are doing. Why are you just sitting there go on Kitty eat your breakfast." He said as if the horrors of last night had never happened. Maybe, Katrin thought, all he needed was what he thought was a last meeting of his wife. To hold her in his arms and say goodbye.

As first this change in her uncle had made Katrin uneasy. She just kept looking for a glimpse of the destroyed part of her uncle. The part that left him depressed for three months. Yet as the months passed she never saw that part again so she wrote of the one terrible occurrence as a drunken mistake.

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Then one day her uncle Will didn't come home when he usually did. Katrin began to worry as the third lonely hour passed. She knew her uncle had said he's be back a six o' clock that night. Yet now it was fifteen after nine and he had yet to come home. Katrin laid down on the couch to wait but so the waiting turned caused her to tire se she closed her eyes just to take a nap while waiting for her uncle to return.

She woke with a start when she heard the front door slam shut. Blinking her eyes she squinted in the darkness and saw that the clock read one o' clock in the morning. A shadow fell across the hall entrance. There she saw the outline of her uncle's form. Slowly raising up she reached over to turn on the lamp beside the couch. She braced her eyes as the light from the lamp came on.

Katrin became startled when she saw her uncle face. His eyes where wide and bloodshot. His face held a wild look to it and his face had a shadow of longing.

"Uncle Will?" He didn't answer; he just continued to stare at her.

"Rachael? What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you'd came back? You know how much I love you so why would you torment me by not coming to me." He cried out. Oh on, Katrin thought he thinks I'm her again. Katrin searched his face and saw something in it. He's on drugs she thought. The way he breathing was hitched and his stance was tense was just like that of the farmer Reese had to arrested not even a month ago. He too had held the same aggressive expression as her uncle. Scared Katrin rose and carefully began to back away towards the other exit keeping her eyes planted on her uncle the entire time. He noticed her slow retreating and he faced twisted into one of rage.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO LEAVE ME AGAIN? No I won't let you leave this time!" Uncle Will bellowed and lunged at Katrin. She gave up her slow walking for full on running. As she reached to hall she slipped on the rug bringing her down hard. In seconds her uncle was on her. He flipped her over onto her back. She learned quicker this time and kneed him hard. After pushing him backwards she leapt up ignoring the pain of her ankle and rushed to the kitchen where the back door was.

She reached to open it to find it locked. Damn! Katrin had completely forgotten that she had locked it before retiring to the study to wait. She struggled to get it open but her trembling hands caused her to fumble. Then as soon as the last lock was opened large hands grabbed her from behind and threw her across the room into the counter. Pain bit into her back. Once again she was grabbed front the front and then William backhanded her with such force it brought her spiraling to the ground. Katrin tasted the blood begin to fill her mouth. Before Katrin could recover from the hit hands began to beat at her fragile limbs and tear her clothing. Suddenly the hands left her, only to leave ache behind. She opened her swollen eyes to see her uncle above her with a knife. He bent over her and cut down her dress front with the blade exposed her chest to his hungry view. Greedy He groped her flesh, bruising her skin as he pulled on the tips of her breasts.

Katrin began to struggle against the pain and try to block her uncle's advances. Her cries and attacks infuriated him. He kissed her flesh harder until her elbow caught him under the chin. In anger he brought the knife up and stabbed it into her soft middle. The feel of pain so intense left her screaming. She called to her uncle begging him to realize what he was doing but he no longer was in connection with reality or what he was doing.

William's hands lifted her skirts and tore at her underclothes. Katrin kicked with all the strength she had left. Once again he used the pain from the blade's edge to subdue her by cutting into her thighs with short deep cuts. Slowly losing conscience fast Katrin knew she had to do something. The draining of her blood pooled around her. She tapped into her jewel strength throwing every last effort into forcing him off her. It worked his weaken mind was no match for her Red jeweled desperation. The weight of her Uncle gone left her feeling exposed and confused. Gaining control of her self she tried to stand up. As soon as she got to her feet she collapsed from pain. Her body was racked with pain, drenching her body in a clammy sweat. Katrin hazily noticed her uncle sprawled on the ground not five feet away bleeding from the head. She didn't care. The only thing on her mind was escape. Katrin crawled to the door and opened it. Leaving behind a trail of blood, she dragged herself to the woods that wrapped of village. There she heard footsteps and sounds of men. Terrified she forced herself past the pain and clutched the wound that marred her stomach and stood up. Katrin ran. She ran as fast and as hard as she was able, wanting to get as far away as possible.

A/N8

So that's the end I put another one on tomorow...Enjoy...thank you


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